


Stop and Stare

by Rikuya



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Dorks in Love, M/M, Punk Dan, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 05:25:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5527673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikuya/pseuds/Rikuya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil Lester considered his job at the coffee shop pretty normal, but that was until this cute, punk guy with red hair and snake bites came in and asked for a large caramel macchiato.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stop and Stare

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of fiction, and it's completely unrelated to the actual people appeared in this story.  
> Title from "Cool" by Troye Sivan.  
> Inspired by "Ten Inch Hero".

  
The first time when Phil met the guy with red hair and snake bites, was a bright, hot summer afternoon.  
Usually there would be a huge line up at this time, but strangely there were only three or four customers. So Phil, obviously, was really happy to take a break from yelling all the orders and writing all the names on the cups, and of course he had to be careful to not drop the coins onto the ground because of his clumsiness.  
And he for sure didn't expect this sort of customer.  
It was kind of strange to see a guy, obviously punk, with piercings and tattoos all over his exposed skin standing a foot or two away from the counter, staring up at the menu.  
Phil couldn't help but started to pay attention to the guy. He was curious.  
The punk boy couldn't be more than twenty three years old, and he was tall -- really tall, probably taller than Phil himself -- and good looking too. And he probably has the habit of biting into his bottom lip when he was concentrating on something, like, for example, thinking about what kind of coffee he should get for this afternoon.  
Phil was kind of expecting something like ice coffee without sugar and cream, or coffee black, or some sort of thing he for sure would never try because of the bitterness. However by the time he asked "What can I get for you?" when the punk boy finally came up to him, the answer he got was "Large Caramel Macchiato".  
Phil nodded, slightly surprised, and then grabbed a cup, "May I get your name?"  
"Dan," The guy, Dan, smiled at him, "thanks."  
"No problem." Phil smiled, "That'll be $4.75."  
The hand that reached out to hand him the bills was covered in tattoos. It was a work of art, and he noticed a lot of symbols from different literatures. Phil didn't even realize he was staring until the cash machine chimes for his attention.  
"Oh my god, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Phil quickly apologized, taking out the coins to hand back to Dan.  
Dan shook his head, smiling, "No worries, I kind of get that sort of attention all the time."  
"I just think they are magnificent, that's all."  
"Really?" Dan blinked, "You don't think it's weird or anything?"  
Phil shrugged, "No," He smiled back at Dan, "not at all."  
Dan was grinning, "Thanks, uh, and thanks for the coffee too. I gotta go, maybe, uh, see you next time?"  
"Sure," Phil waved, "I look forward to it."

x

Dan was kind of cute. For a punk, especially.  
It was the middle of the day, another boring morning of his shift, and he hadn't got anything to do expect to rewind his memory back to the punk boy who was here the other day.  
Phil was interrupted by a loud curse outside of the coffee shop -- the door was open, after all -- and when he looked up he saw Dan, on the phone, yelling at the other end.  
"Shut the fuck up," He heard Dan shouted, "you little shit, I don't give two fucks about you and your stupid attitude and your fucking rules,  
"Oh alright, so you are saying this is my fucking fault? I can tell you that you are the fucking reason I can't even live my life properly! I don't care, you know what, I don't even fucking care. It's over.  
"Don't you 'Dan' me, who the fuck do you think you are? Why the fuck should I care about your shitty excuse and your idiotic apologize? It's over, it's fucking OVER.  
"Oh and don't you even trying to contact me again, your number would be forever resting in the black-fucking-list."  
Phil saw Dan hang up the phone, stood outside for a long moment, long enough to let him have the time to order a cup of hot chocolate. When Dan finally came in, his face was a complete wreck. And Phil's heart ached at that expression.  
"Sorry," Dan sighed, pushing his hair aside a bit, "was I being too loud or...?"  
"It's completely alright, nobody's around by this time," Phil smiled soothingly, pushing the cup of hot chocolate forward, "Have this, it's on the house."  
Dan’s eyes widened, "You don't have to..."  
Phil shook his head, "You are having a bad day, take this and go sit down at one of the tables, just relax. Everything's gonna be fine."  
Dan seemed shocked, and almost like he was going to cry, but at the end he just mumbled a quiet "Thanks" and took the cup.  
Phil watched Dan walking toward the seat beside the window, and looked at his watch. It was only another five minutes till the end of his shift. He then took off his apron and sorted everything out on the counter before he just went straight to Dan, who was staring out of the window, hands cupping the warm paper cup of the hot drink.  
"Hey," Phil whispered, causing Dan to look up at him, and he smiled, "can I join you?"  
"Aren't you working?" Dan blinked.  
"Hmm, let's see," Phil mimicked the sound of an alarm clock, "Phil Lester's shift ends right about now. Please reset the alarm to the next person, boo-di-boo-di-boop."  
It made Dan laugh out loud, a bright smile breaking out, and he had dimples -- Phil noted, couldn't help but smiling back.  
"That's not how an alarm clock sounds," Dan shook his head, "'kay, sit down if you want."  
"Do you want to talk about it or..." Phil started, "It's totally okay if you don't, but I think it'll help if you get it out."  
Dan sighed, sipping from his drink, "It's fine, it's just something stupid."  
Phil didn't talk, simply looked into Dan's brown eyes, waiting for him to continue.  
"My boyfriend broke up with me." Dan rolled his eyes, "For some stupid reason, fan-fucking-tastic...uh, sorry."  
Smiling, Phil shook his head to show he didn't mind, and stayed silent to let Dan go on.  
"Anyway," Dan bit his bottom lip, "supposing he broke up with me because 'I'm not cool enough'," he made a quotation mark using his right hand, "apparently first he thought 'punk' is a cool thing and he expected me to be all cool and shit, and I'm just a giant nerd who likes the style.  
"Well and then his family doesn't like me being this and this and this," he gestured toward his piercings and tattoos, "so he asked me to 'be normal' when he's with family friends, and of course I said no. Who the hell he thinks he is, like, just because I'm dating him I have to change? We are not like engaged or anything.  
"And then he got mad said I don't 'respect' his opinions and too stubborn and too what-fucking-ever, so yeah, the rest is history."  
Dan took a long breath, looking down at the steam rising from the cup, "I'm just," he sighed, "I'm so done with everything."  
"It's not your fault," Phil answered softly, "this definitely isn't on you. He doesn't deserve you."  
"Thanks, I guess." Dan looked into his eyes, "Why are you being so nice to me? We just met and the time we met we barely talked."  
Phil smiled, "Is 'because I really liked you' an answer?"  
Dan's eyes widened, "Wh, what?"  
"You underestimated your attractiveness, Dan." Phil grinned, "If that's the case, then I want to know you better, what do you say?"  
Dan looked, and nodded, "Alright then, I'm Dan Howell, nice to meet you."

x

Dan: hold on there's something I forgot to ask u  
Dan: and it's been a month already how did this happen  
Phil: What thing?  
Dan: u don't mind i look like this and swear a lot?  
Dan: u r a pretty polite guy i mean  
Phil: I don't mind  
Phil: In fact I think you can be whoever you want to be, you don't have to change for anybody but yourself, you know?  
Dan:   
Dan: y r u always so nice  
Phil: am I?  
Dan: IDK, but thx  
Phil: Anytime ^ ^

Phil: Hey, do you want to come to my place sometime?  
Phil: We can have a movie and pizza, and stuff.

Phil: Was that too much?  
Phil: I'm sorry.

Dan: OMFG I was on the tube and the signal was like shit, y r u apologizing of course i'd love to  
Dan: Is the offer still on the table  
Phil: You nearly gave me a heart attack :(  
Phil: When are you free?  
Dan: Friday night?  
Dan: o and u should be thankful im not kira so u can't actually get a heart attack from me ;)  
Dan: sry stupid reference  
Phil: Friday night sounds awesome, see you 5pm at the coffee shop?  
Phil: Hold on you watch anime too? Movie's off, I'll put on Death Note.  
Dan: OMG  
Dan: u r the best person in the world  
Phil: ;)

x

Phil almost couldn't hold back his smile when he was working on Friday afternoon. Dan arrived at the coffee shop at ten to five, wearing his normal black T-shirt and skinny jeans. He ordered a small cup of caramel macchiato and waited at one of the tables near the door, smiling when Phil waved at him.  
When Phil finally took off his apron and crossed the shop, he saw Dan, yawning and staring at his phone, and that was the time Phil knew he was completely doomed because of this boy with red hair and snake bites.  
"Hey," he called out, and Dan turned his head toward him, his words cutting off by a yawn.  
Dan answered with a hum while yawning, raising his hand to rub his eyes before Phil stopped him.  
"You'll smudge your eyeliner, I have some tissue if you want some."  
Dan blinked, "It's waterproof, but yeah, please?"  
Phil smiled, handing him the tissue and watching Dan carefully dabbed the tears away, "Why are you so tired?"  
"Uh," Dan scratched his neck, "I might have stayed up till four last night...yeah."  
"To do what?"  
"...I just...randomly browsing the internet while catching up on the latest episode of American Horror Story?"  
Phil almost laughed out loud.  
"Hey!" Dan poked him, "Stop laughing!"  
"I'm sorry," Phil grinned at him, "I just think you are too cute to be a punk."  
Dan rolled his eyes, a smile cracking, "Well, I am a giant nerd, I just hate for being normal while getting judged by my hobbies and interests."  
Phil shrugged, "Make sense, and I'm definitely on board with you on the nerdy stuff." He smiled, "Why don't we get going? My place isn't that far."  
"Yeah, of course."

x

"It's suspiciously clean for a guy's house to be honest," Dan eyed him after stepping into his apartment, "did you clean your room just because I'm coming over?"  
"I might have?" Phil smiled, "So, drinks?"  
"Nah, I'm good," Dan stepped closer, "you know,"  
Phil looked at him, "Hmm?"  
"I haven't met anyone...like, anyone who doesn't judge and be this nice to me for a long time. So, uh, thank you." Dan swallowed, smiling slightly "And I don't really mind if you want to take a step further, actually I'd love you take a step further."  
Phil blinked, running Dan's words in his mind over one more time before replying, "What about your ex?"  
"He's stupid," Dan made a face, "and a rude little shit, I don't give a fuck anymore. You matter to me and he doesn't, so,"  
And then Phil kissed him.  
Phil could taste the metallic coldness from Dan's snake bites, could taste the sweetness of caramel inside Dan's mouth. Dan almost melted against him, making those tiny, adorable sounds muffled by the kiss.   
"You matter to me too," Phil whispered against his lips, "be my boyfriend?"  
"Umm yeah, less talking, more kissing." Dan pushed him toward the sofa, didn't let go of his lips for even one moment. They crashed into the cushions, lips still connecting with each others', Dan's knees on either side of Phil's hips, and they kept that position for over ten minutes of their make out session.  
Phil's hands were sliding down Dan's sides, lifting his T-shirt before Dan suddenly broke the kiss and held his hand in place, "God, I need to tell you something,"  
"What?" Phil stilled, "Am I being..."  
"No! It's not about you, I promise," Dan stuttered, "uh...I got nipple piercing too."  
Phil blinked at him, "That's all?"  
"Yeah, don't worry, I'm not brave enough to get my dick pierced." Dan moaned slightly when Phil started to kiss his neck, "Mmmm...You don't mind?"  
"I don't,"   
Phil nipped at his neck for a brief second, fingers sliding up and found the metal bar piercing his nipple, giving it a little twist. Dan mewled, pushing his chest into Phil's hand, "God, do that again, please,"  
"Sensitive?" Phil murmured against his skin, giving it another pinch.  
Dan nodded, now already grinding himself against Phil's crotch, "Fuck, what are you waiting for?"  
"Your consent," Phil pulled back a bit to speak properly, "I don't want to push or any-"  
"You are not pushing," Dan leaned over and bit Phil's lip, "you have my full consent for whatever things you want to do that include your dick and my ass."  
Phil giggled, "You are insatiable."  
"Don't like that you just know me," Dan smirked, "get to work, Philly."  
Phil lifted his eyebrow, "Oh really now? Get your butt into my bedroom then."  
Dan poked out his tongue and quickly got off the couch, almost skipped to the direction Phil was pointing at.  
Phil, shaking his head, followed the red haired boy into his own bedroom.  
He absolutely didn't see this coming when he sent out that text.

x

They were kissing again as soon as Dan stripped out of his shirt, and Phil couldn't help but stopped, starting to stare at Dan's now bare chest. It was not bare, actually, it was covered in fascinating tattoos.   
His fingertips traced the elegant art from Dan's collarbone to ribcage, leaning down to kiss every gap of images and writings. But Dan shifted on his bed slightly, and Phil, realizing that, quickly raised his head and asked, "What's wrong?"  
"You don't think..." Dan but his bottom lip, swallowing his own words.  
"Shhhh," Phil murmured, "they are beautiful."  
"Yeah?"  
"Yeah."  
He leaned forward, gently nipped at Dan's jaw line, proceeding down his neck, and got a dry moan in return.  
"One day you are going to tell me the stories behind these," Phil kissed his collarbone, murmuring against his skin.  
Dan's fingers clenched the bed sheets, arching up to meet Phil's touch and whined impatiently, "Can you just...get on with it?"  
Phil smiled, his hand trailing down and rubbed against the younger's crotch, "Impatient, aren't we?"  
"I wouldn't be if you just..." His sentence got cut off suddenly when Phil started to bite his nipple, tongue poking out to tease the metal bar. Dan almost yelled when Phil reached his hand into his pants and started touching him, rubbing the head of his cock.  
"God,"  
Phil murmured against his chest, "Lift up?"  
Dan quickly complied, lifting his hips up to let Phil take off his pants, and he was naked within a second, lying on Phil's bed sheets, hard and eager.  
Phil started to pump Dan's cock as soon as the fabric was gone, his thumb swiping over the slit, exchanging for a strangled moan from the boy underneath him. Dan's hips were kicking unintentionally, trying to get Phil to touch him more.  
Phil, being as considerate as possible, worked Dan up some more before he reached to the bedside table, searching for a condom and lube. He trailed kisses down Dan's neck -- the young boy keened in return -- and asked softly, "You doing okay?"  
"I'm fantastic, oh god, that feels good," Dan answered between moans, thrusting into Phil's fist, "just fuck me, please,"  
"Patient," Phil said with a strangled voice, "I need to prep you,"  
"Umm,"  
Phil slid his hand down, rubbed his finger pad against Dan's hole for awhile before he popped open the lube bottle, squeezing a general amount of lube onto his fingers.  
"Ready?"  
Dan nodded frankly, hooking an arm onto his neck and brought him down for a kiss, their tongues pressing against each others'. Phil rubbed the lube onto Dan's hole before sliding in gently, and Dan moaned into his mouth, pressing down against his fingers, muffled a word that sounded like "more" while they were kissing.  
Phil thrust his finger in and out a few more times despite Dan's protest, and then slid in another finger, encountering a small amount of resistance. Dan whined impatiently and pushed down, almost fucking himself onto Phil's fingers. Phil bit down on Dan's neck in return, starting to scissor his two fingers, curling them to try to find Dan's sweet spot.   
Dan almost screamed when Phil touched his prostate shortly after, "Fuck!" He yelled, "Oh god, do it again, fuck,"  
"Yeah?" Phil sucked on his collarbone, working a third finger in, "You like that?"  
Dan just whimpered when the three fingers started to move in and out of him, rubbing his prostate and demanding him to scream for Phil.  
"I'm gonna come if you don't put your fucking dick in me," Dan keened, almost begging, "just fuck me,"  
"Alright," Phil panted, pulling his fingers out and putting the condom on. He rubbed the head of his hard cock against Dan's clenching rim, teasing him, and got an eager noise in return. He smiled, slowly pushing in, and Dan threw his head back, moaning loudly as Phil bottomed out.  
Phil held it there, leaning down to kiss him again, "Do you need a minute?"  
"No," Dan whined, hooking his legs onto Phil's hips, "I'm so good, move, god,"  
He started off slow, pulling out slightly then pushing in. Obviously his impatient lover was not satisfied, insisting Phil to move faster.  
Dan cried out when Phil picked up the pace, switching angles every few thrusts, and he screamed when the head of Phil's cock hit his prostate dead on.  
"Fuck, fuck fuck fuck, Phil," Dan pushed down onto Phil's cock when another wave of pleasure washed over him, "FUCK,"  
"You are so tight," Phil panted against his ear, fucking into him properly now. His lips traveled down and found Dan's pierced nipple, sucking and biting at it, and Dan bucked up, completely taken over by the intense pleasure already.  
"Phil, oh fuck, harder," Dan was clawing at him, and Phil pulled away for one second and he suddenly discovered how beautiful Dan was at this moment. His hair was curling at the tips; his brown eyes were almost glassy but yet so bright like stars; his lips were kissed raw and red, the snake bites reflecting the ceiling light.  
Phil kissed him again as he picked up the pace, already close to the climax, "God, you look incredible like this,"  
"Says, fuck, says you," Dan's hand dropped from Phil's neck and clenching the sheets instead, his hole clenching as Phil reached down to pump his cock again, "Oh my god, oh god, I'm gonna come, I'm gonna,"  
"I love you," Phil muttered, matching the speed of his hand with his thrusts, "come for me Dan,"  
Dan screamed Phil's name as he came, and Phil did another few thrusts, tipping over the edge not long after. Dan was blinking at him when he got rid of the condom and cleaned them both up briefly using a wet towel.   
Phil smiled, moving under the sheet and pulled Dan into a warm embrace, resting his chin onto Dan's shoulders. Dan nuzzled into his arms, "I recalled someone promised pizza and anime,"  
"Do you want to get up?" Phil smiled, looking down at Dan's sleepy eyes.  
"Nah," Dan yawned, snuggling even closer, "I can do a nap."  
"Nap it is then, I'll order pizza and put on whatever you want when we wake up."  
"Deal."  
"...I love you too." Dan said after a long moment, and Phil's lips curled into a smile in the state between dream and reality.

x

Dan pretty much became a regular at the coffee shop after that Friday. He often wanders in right after Phil's shifts starts, and he'll order his coffee, sits down at one of the tables and opens his laptop to work.  
Phil was not surprised when he learned that Dan is a freelance writer because he knew Dan is a creative person, he knew that Dan is unique.  
Sometimes like that afternoon when no customers are around, he'll pull a chair to sit beside Dan, starting a casual conversation and always making Dan laugh at the end.   
Though, some elders, much to Phil's annoyance, always tend to give them, or specifically Dan, a lot of strange looks, as if Dan was not part of the community and should be treating differently. The owner and other employees were all quite fond of Dan, so luckily nobody had said anything harmful to the punk boy yet.  
And this day, Phil was in the middle of a funny conversation with Dan when the wind-bell rang, signaling somebody walking in. He stood up, and to his horror, saw his own mother standing in the doorway and smiling at him.  
"Um..."  
Dan shot him a questioning look, but before Phil could answer anything, Mrs. Lester was already walking straight toward them and pulling Phil into a hug.  
"Mum?"  
"Hey, Martyn and I were around the neighbourhood so I thought I'll say hi, how is life going?"  
Phil swallowed, "Uh, pretty well, actually, um, Mum, look,"  
"What's wrong?" Mrs. Lester gave him a worrying look.  
"This is not quite the scenario I have planned, but," Phil reached over and took Dan's hand, gently pulling the boy to his side, "this is Dan, my boyfriend."  
"Oh!" Mrs. Lester seemed surprised, "I was wondering who this lovely young man is," she smiled, and hugged Dan too, "Nice to meet you, Dan, I love your hair."  
Dan blinked, stuttering when he returned the hug, "Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Lester, uh, Th-thanks?"  
"Well, I should get going," Mrs. Lester said after a few minutes of chat, "Martyn said hi, by the way, I'll see you in Thanksgiving, and Dan too I suppose?"  
"Yeah, bye mum," Phil let out a long breath as soon as the door to the coffee shop was closed, and Dan practically flopped down to the chair.  
"That was fucking scary!" Dan claimed, his voice was strangled, "Oh god, Phil,"  
"I didn't know it was gonna happen, I swear." Phil sat down beside him again, "Are you okay?"  
Dan sighed, "Yeah...slightly terrified, though. I didn't think your mum would like me for a long time, Jesus."  
"Well, she definitely likes you that's for sure," Phil smiled, "Why wouldn't she?"  
Dan rolled his eyes, "Well, my stupid asshole ex-boyfriend's parents didn't, so does a bunch of my relatives, including my parents, so yeah,"  
"My family was pretty open, so don't worry. And like I said," He leaned over to kiss Dan's cheek, "you don't need to change for anyone unless you want to, I love you as the way you are."  
Dan was blushing, pushing him away, "That was so cheesy,"  
Phil smiled, "It was supposed to be cheesy."

x

Days came and went by, the leaves on the street turned to golden, and fell to the frozen ground. Dan moved in with Phil after Thanksgiving, and they'll walk home together after Phil's shift at the coffee shop ends each day, hand in hand.  
"I was planning to start my masters in spring, so yeah," Phil was on the phone with his brother that evening when Dan was on his laptop on the other end of the sofa, and he smiled when Dan almost knock himself in the head with a pen. Dan gave him a stern look, putting down the laptop and crawled over, resting his head on Phil's lap.  
"Probably, I mean the coffee shop isn't that bad of a job, I wasn't getting paid by minimum wage and that was pretty nice."  
Dan looked up at him.  
"I'll have to change to part-time when I go back to school, definitely," Phil smiled at Dan, his other hand petting Dan's red hair without really noticing his motion.  
"...What do you mean, some of them isn't happy with my relationship?"  
Dan almost snapped back to reality after he almost dozed off to Phil's touches, and he focused on Phil's words almost too intently.  
Phil was frowning, "What's wrong with my relationship, anyway? What's their business?  
"Well, I won't be home until Christmas, and, Dan is definitely coming no matter what. Right, take care yourself too, bye."  
He sighed, hanging up the phone and looked back at Dan, who was staring at him with concerned eyes.  
"What happened?"  
"Well," Phil shrugged, "it turned out some of my relatives aren't that nice either."  
Dan bit his bottom lip, "...So are they not liking you for being with a person like me?"  
"In short, yeah," Phil leaned down, pressing a kiss to Dan's forehead, "don't worry about it, my parents and Martyn adore you, they won't be even a bother, okay?"  
Dan snuggled closer, "I still feel bad," he said quietly, "you seem pretty close to them during your family gathering."  
"Doesn't matter," Phil said, "if you don't feel comfortable of doing anything, don't, not for anyone's opinion, remember?"  
Dan just hummed his response.  
"I'll try to do something," Phil sighed, staring into the distance, "I want you to have a nice Christmas."  
Dan closed his eyes, for the first time he felt the eyebrow bar was disturbing him.  
"I love you, Dan."  
It was the last thing he heard before he slowly drifted off to sleep.

x

Dan was acting pretty strange.  
It was almost Christmas, and as long as Phil's worry can go, a part of it was Dan, and another part was the relatives who kept forcing him to "get a proper partner". Well, to be honest, he wasn't really caring about what others say, either, he cared about Dan's feelings.  
Strangely enough, Dan was worrying this because of Phil might feel bad for standing against his relatives, and of course of his past-experience had all ended badly.  
Dan had had a nightmare the other day, and Phil still flinched whenever he thought about that night when he woke up to a silently sobbing Dan beside him. Dan told him he dreamt Phil suddenly became his ex and calling him freak, told him about how his family always saw him as an outcast and not accepting him as who he was.  
Phil spent a long time to soothe him, and after Dan finally asleep, he lay there and stared at the ceiling.   
Whenever things went this way, Phil had felt really, really helpless.  
Dan wasn't your typical punk. He liked the style of punk, and he also liked the feeling of being unique but also belongs to another community in the same time. People either approached him because he looks cool and badass, or rejected him before even know him because he is "different".  
But to Phil he's just Dan.  
And he tried so hard to let Dan know this and it seems like it was going nowhere.  
Now Dan was acting strange for the past few days, and he just sent a text about bringing home some groceries to Dan, which Dan had not responded yet.

Two hours into the shift, Phil was restless.  
His co-worker had sensed his restlessness, and asked him if he wanted to go home and check on Dan instead, but he shook his head no.  
"I'm probably just on the edge for no reason, he is probably just on the tube or something."  
Then it was lunch break, Phil stayed at the counter this time for unexpected customers. He was usually on his phone, and he was, looking at Dan's contact page wandering if he should call him or not.  
Just when he almost decided he'll call him, a voice called out to him and said, "A large caramel macchiato, please."  
He lifted his head and before he could call Dan's name, he stopped in the middle. He stared at the young boy in front of him in complete shock, almost couldn't get hold of his phone.  
Dan was completely changed.  
His red hair was now a pleasant shade of brown, his piercings were all gone except for a pair of silver earrings, and he was not wearing eyeliner or any sort of accessories. Dan was wearing a black hoodie which covered most of his tattoos, and his normal skinny jeans.  
"...Dan?"  
"Hey," Dan smiled shyly, "I just..."  
"You don't have to ch..."  
"I know," Dan answered, "I wanted to." He took a step toward the counter, staring into Phil's eyes, "Before, I was feeling insecure, I feel like I'm a weird kid that nobody wanted to accept me, so I went into punk and thought, 'hey, this is the reason I'm all alone'...yeah, basically I just made up an excuse to not be self-hating all the time. And then there came my ex who thought I was cool, and I was overjoyed that people actually wanted to know me but it turned out he's a fucking douche. I didn't expect you, Phil." He took a breath, smiling, "I didn't expect somebody like you who would want to know me, to love me as a person, Phil, and you know what?  
"I don't have to make up an excuse for myself that I'm different anymore."  
Phil was staring at him, speechless, but smiling at the same time.  
"'Cause I can be normal," Dan said with a shrug, "to other people. But I'm always special to you, right? Like you are special to me even though you always said you are just an average guy."  
"Of course you are special to me, Dan." Phil said, reaching out to touch Dan's hand.  
"So," Dan said, smiling, "Phil Lester, would you like to go on a date with me?"  
Phil couldn't hold back his wide smile, "Absolutely."  
He walked around the counter and pulled Dan into a hug, kissing him softly on the lips.  
"I would love to, Dan Howell."

  
END

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this please leave a kudo and preferably a comment to let me know what you think!  
> I have tumblr which is : rikuisnotonfire.tumblr.com  
> Feel free to come and say hi!! :D


End file.
